Board structure

The GLA Trust is guided by the individual and collective contribution of the Board of Directors. The work of the Board of Directors is the driving force for the success of the trust and its member academies and Directors should feel that the job they do is rewarding and satisfying.

Board Members

• Ruth Lewis
  Member
  Ruth Lewis

  Ruth was Chair of Governors for the federated governing body of Rowanfield Junior School and Springbank Primary Academy, two of the three founding GLA schools. She became a trustee on the first GLA Trust Board established in 2013.

  She was elected Vice Chair in September 2016 and became the Chair of the Trust Board for four years from January 2018.

  Ruth was a Member of Council at Cheltenham College for nine years until 2019 and was Chair of the Welfare and Safeguarding committee.

  Ruth is a qualified teacher with 25 years primary school experience including senior management posts in urban and rural schools. From 2001 to 2010, she was School Workforce Advisor with Gloucestershire County Council. From 2010, Ruth was Lead Commissioner for Early Years and Vulnerable Children at Gloucestershire County Council. She was the contract manager for 39 Childrens' centres in Gloucestershire and the Local Authority lead for Childrens' centre OFSTED inspections.

  Ruth retired from this role in 2017.

• Helen Morris
  Member
  Helen Morris

  Helen became a member in December 2023. She is also Chair of the Board of Trustees

• James Passmore
  Member
  James Passmore

  James has over 25 years education experience including 20+ years as a leader. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Pickwick Academy Trust, a 21 primary school Trust in Wiltshire and North Dorset. He has previously held roles such as Deputy CEO and Director of Pickwick Learning Teaching School Alliance, and has been the sub-regional lead for the Teaching School Council for Swindon, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. He is passionate about teaching and learning, and bringing people together effectively to improve outcomes for pupils.

• James Richardson
  Member
  James Richardson

  James is the Headteacher at Pates Grammar School in Cheltenham, taking up this prestigious role in September 2023. Prior to this he was the Director of Education at CSET. James has worked in education policy and research at the Education Endowment Foundation in London, latterly as the Head of Dissemination and Impact, and at the MNS Foundation in the United States. James holds a PhD in education policy from the University of Bristol, where he remains an academic fellow at the School of Education, and he also chairs the Five Counties Teaching School Hub Curriculum Group.

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GLA Trustees

• Adam Lewis
  Chair to the Board of Trustees
  Adam Lewis

  Adam joined the Trust Board in November 2023, having previously served as Chair of Finance and Risk on the Churchdown Village Infant School (CVIS) Governing Board prior to CVIS joining the GLA. Adam attended CVIS 30 years ago, and lives in Churchdown with his wife and son, who is currently enjoying his time at the school.

  Adam was previously a founding trustee of the University of Bristol Students' Union, having acted as one of the executive members who secured its charitable status. After graduating from the University of Bristol with a first-class degree in Accounting and Management, he joined the civil service in 2010. Adam specialises in high value, complex procurement programmes and is a chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply.

  Having held leadership roles within several significant defence programmes, Adam brings experience of strategy development and implementation, governance and policy, financial management, and building and developing strong teams. Adam is committed to supporting and challenging the vision and direction of the GLA Trust, ensuring that it continues to provide a supportive and safe environment to help our children develop across the family of schools.

• Jonathan Wilson
  Vice-Chair to Board of Trustees
  Jonathan Wilson

  Jon started out working in customer services for the NatWest bank, where he was involved heavily in their shift from paper based systems to, what was then, the more modern computer systems.

  During this time he also worked towards his early qualifications in banking and finance and this promoted him to reconsider his decision to leave his studies at the end of secondary school.

  Having decided on a change of direction for his career, he left work and studied full time at UMIST gaining a degree in Computation, before moving straight into the civil service to pursue a career in Project Management. This has seen him manage a number of multi million pound projects across a wide range of disciplines from software development to building construction and international relations. Within this, he has worked extensively with foreign partners gaining a good understanding of working across both physical and cultural divides.

  Alongside his work he has also become a full member both the Association for Project Management and the Institute for Engineering and Technology, the latter awarding him the status of Chartered Engineer. During his career he has also taken time aside to complete an LLB with Nottingham Law School to compliment his other qualifications. Away from work, Jon is a father of a young son who attends Springbank Primary Academy and has been a member of the local governing body for the past year. Coming from a family of teachers, he has a keen interest in all aspects of education but particularly in how pupils with special needs are catered for and how education can be inclusive for all.

• Colin Foster
  Chair of Finance & Audit Committee
  Colin Foster

  Colin joined the Board in September 2021. He is a retired accountant and management consultant.

  After training and working as an accountant in local government in the North East, Colin joined Coopers and Lybrand (now PWC) as a management consultant before returning to the public sector to spend 14 years in senior finance roles in the NHS. His last position in the NHS was Director of a Primary Care Trust.

  In 2005 Colin returned to consultancy with accountancy firm PKF (later BDO). He advised public sector clients on a wide range of projects before specialising in education. He acted as a project manager for the DfE in establishing the early academies and free schools. From 2010 he focussed on schools converting to academies and setting up Multi Academy Trusts (MATs).

  Prior to retiring in 2020, Colin operated his own consultancy business working as a project manager establishing Regional Adoption Agencies in local government by merging existing services.

  As well as his background in setting-up academies, Colin brings direct experience of being a MAT Trustee as he was on the Board of the Sentamu Academy Learning Trust in Hull for 3 years prior to moving to Gloucestershire.

• Robert Bromberg
  Trustee
  Robert Bromberg

  For nearly 45 years I have gained experience of teaching, leadership, and school improvement at a range of rural, urban primary and middle schools in Somerset, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Birmingham, Staffordshire, and Swindon. I was seconded to work for a Local Authority for two years in an Advisory role. This included working with a wide range of professionals within Primary, Secondary and Special schools and local colleges to produce implementation plans, training packages and recruit appropriately trained staff. In addition to my role as LA Adviser, I provided a wide range of advice, training and support for schools. As a result of this work, I was asked to take a school out of Special Measures and turned it around within fourteen months. This required rigorous analysis of data, combined with a determined approach to school improvement.

  I served as a Governor at most of the schools I worked in over more than 25 years. I had the opportunity to work on the Finance, Standards and Premises committees at all of these schools and developed the policies and practices for Local Management in Schools on behalf on the Governing Body when it was first introduced. As a result, I developed a course in strategic Financial Management for Headteachers that was delivered with the Head of Audit. The BBC also featured this work and made it into a national training course.

  I worked for nearly ten years in School Improvement for the charity ‘Achievement for All' as an adviser until the charity folded at the end of the pandemic. Although, on the way to full retirement, since then I have worked as an independent consultant which has given me a range of experiences in school improvement where much of my work has been in working with headteachers to improve leadership, the curriculum, parental engagement, and standards at all levels. I am a qualified External Adviser to Governing Bodies and still work in assisting them to assess the performance of Headteachers.

• Paul Clark
  Trustee
  Paul Clark

  Paul started his professional career as a design engineer at Smith Industries (now GE Aviation) in Bishops Cleeve back in 1985.

  After a short period as a consultant for ERA, one of the UK's leading research organisations, Paul moved into international business development where he has spent the last 30 plus years creating, building and managing marketing and sales organisations including leading the post-merger integration of two large telecoms companies in cross Europe, Middle East and Africa.

  Paul brings experience of organisational design, business strategy, change management, growth, and building teams. He has studied extensively in the UK and the US.

  Paul is a professional business mentor and leadership advisor in Gloucestershire, and manages a national sales and marketing consultancy.

  Paul has 3 grown up boys, and lives in The Park area of Cheltenham.

• Dafydd Lawday
  Trustee
  Dafydd Lawday

  Dafydd has nearly 30 years of experience in education as a teacher and leader, and over 20 years of experience working within governance teams. He has worked in the South West, Wales, and the Midlands, within schools of varying strengths and challenges.
  
  As a Headteacher, Dafydd led a school from Special Measures to Outstanding and was fortunate to be involved in the development of a newly constructed Free School with additional KS1 ASD provision as Principal Designate. Upon opening, he became the Executive Headteacher of two schools.
  
  Dafydd is currently the Chief Executive Officer of a Multi Academy Trust in Worcestershire. During his tenure as CEO, the Trust has welcomed both sponsor and converter schools into their Trust family, growing from a two-school, primary-phase trust to a six-school, all-through mainstream and specialist SEND trust.
  
  Dafydd is a strong advocate of collaboration. He believes when schools are open and share best practices, they are stronger, and pupils benefit enormously.

• Andrew McKenzie
  Trustee
  Andrew McKenzie

  Andrew brings 25 years strategic and technical sustainability experience. He served as Head of Corporate Social Responsibility for a Queen's Award-winning business, where he delivered a comprehensive sustainability strategy addressing materially significant environmental and social impacts. He led initiatives in carbon reduction, responsible procurement, circular economy practices, and stakeholder engagement, drawing on B-Corp principles to create award-winning programmes with measurable benefits across operations, supply chains, and community partnerships.

  As a self-employed sustainability consultant, Andrew works for private organisations and public sector organisations. He is technical lead for a Gloucestershire Net Zero support programme. This fully funded offer supports SMEs with carbon footprinting, emission reduction planning, and strategy development to adapt to the effects of climate change. Andrew is also advising Gloucestershire County Council on organisational carbon reporting and supplier engagement. He frequently delivers presentations and training to audiences ranging from conferences to one-to-one sessions, aiming to inform, inspire, and empower action.

• Sarah Roxborough
  Equality Trustee
  Sarah Roxborough

• Jonathan Saunders
  Trustee
  Jonathan Saunders

  I love working, and relish new challenges. Core skills built over the last 30 years:
  Extensive board level experience across a diverse range of verticals. Ability to lead, plan, grow and manage teams and processes to deliver on company objectives. Strong organizational, sales, marketing and time-management skills with an ability to set priorities and meet deadlines.

• Claire Savory
  Trustee (CEO)
  Claire Savory

  Claire is the CEO at the GLA, a multi-academy Trust of 9 primary schools. Prior to this role she was the Director of Academies in the Trust, leading on School Improvement and new Free School Projects.

  Claire has been an Executive Headteacher across 3 primary schools and was the Head teacher at one of the GLA's founding schools, Rowanfield Junior School since 2005. Under Claire's leadership, Rowanfield achieved an ‘outstanding' OFSTED judgement in 3 consecutive inspections.

  Claire was a National Leader of Education for 12 years providing system leadership regionally in failing schools. She provides executive coaching for the NPQEL and is an experienced facilitator for the NPQH. She is a Trustee for the Futura Learning Partnership.

• Gary Schlick
  Trustee
  Gary Schlick

  With 14 years headship experience in two secondary schools and executive leadership experience in other schools and specialist settings (including SEMH, alternative provision and studio schools), Gary has significant experience in school leadership and in raising achievement.
  
  Gary is currently Chief Executive Officer in a Trust with 26 schools: 20 primaries and 6 secondaries.
  
  Gary has been involved in training headteachers internationally including in Africa and the Middle East.

  Click here to see the Governance Structure for the Trust.

What skills and experience do they bring to the Board?

We always strive to have a Board that has a range of skills and experiences.  There are however qualities that we expect all our Directors to have, and these are summarised below:

Commitment to education: Able to demonstrate a commitment to seeking the highest standards in all our schools and thereby improve the lives of children and young people

Strategic Perspective: Able to develop a broad-based view of issues and events and to perceive their long-term impact.

Interpersonal skills and the ability to work as part of a team: Able to work positively with others and debate whilst maintaining a constructive atmosphere.

Communication skills and the ability to influence: Able to express ideas/plans in a clear manner and to listen actively to other views.

Planning and organisational skills: Able to quickly establish an effective course of action for self and others to achieve goals that can be monitored by realistic performance targets.

Determination and Drive: Able to create the required energy/enthusiasm and commitment necessary to be effective, including attendance at scheduled meetings of the Trust Board (66% minimum) and its Committees.

Experience: Expertise in a field which is of relevance to the oversight of the affairs of the Trust. (Some Directors’ roles may require specific qualifications or a particular skill or experience.)

Understanding of governance: Able to demonstrate a full understanding and appreciation of the principles of governance, including collective responsibility, discharge of fiduciary duties and the seven principles of public life (see section 14).

Equal Opportunities: Commitment to equal opportunities

Director Register 2024 - 2025 (June 2025)

 

Trustee Diversity 

Our current data gathered from our Trustees is detailed below:  

Age

35 - 44 years of age: 12.5% 
45 - 54 years of age: 25% 55 - 64 years of age: 25% 
65 years of age and over: 37.5%  

(Options with no responses were: Under 18, 18 - 24 and 25 - 34). 

Sex assigned at birth   

Female: 25%
Male: 75%  

(Options with no responses were: Intersex and prefer not to say). 

Gender identity  

Woman: 25% 
Man: 75%  

(Options with no responses were: Non-binary, another term and prefer not to say).  

Ethnic group  

White: English/Welsh/Scottish/Irish; Gypsy or Irish Traveller; Roma; Any other white background: 100%  

(Options with no responses were: Asian or Asian British (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese Any other Asian background), Black, Black British, Caribbean or African (Caribbean, African Any other Black, Black British, or Caribbean background), Mixed or multiple ethnic groups (White and Black Caribbean, White and Black African, White and Asian, Any other Mixed or multiple ethnic background), Other ethnic group (Arab, Any other ethnic group).  

Religion or belief  

No religion: 25% 
Christian: 62.5% 
Jewish: 12.5%  

(Options with no responses were: Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Sikh, another religion or belief and prefer not to say).  

Disabilities and long term health conditions  

Yes I have a have a disability or long term health condition: 12.5% 
No I do not have a have a disability or long term health condition: 87.5%


Nationality

British: 62.5%
UK: 25%
Scottish: 12.5%